Netanyahu again seeks unity government despite mandate denial

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called again Monday for a unity government that would keep him in power, a day after opposition rival Gadi Eisenkot was given a mandate to form a coalition.

“A unity government is, simply, a necessity,” Netanyahu said in a video posted on social media that ignored President Isaac Herzog on Sunday formally giving Eisenkot the first chance at a government.

Eisenkot’s opposition bloc received 48 out of 61 seats needed for a majority in Israel’s parliament in Oct 27 elections. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats.

But Eisenkot received a majority of recommendations in parties’ talks with Herzog. He could rely on Arab-majority parties, which won a record 19 seats after unprecedented voter turnout on anger over racism and marginalisation by Netanyahu’s far-right government.

In his video, Netanyahu warned Israelis against what he described as the threat of including Arab-Israelis in a future government.

“You cannot form a government with Hamas supporters, a government that depends on Hamas supporters,” Netanyahu said Monday, repeating an often-used scare tactic against Arab-Israeli parties, which he has also accused of election fraud despite a lack of evidence.

The parties deny the charges. Eisenkot faces resistance within the opposition to including Arab-Israeli parties, which could also vote to put him in power without joining the government, leaving it fragile.

Netanyahu said that a unity government around his Likud party should instead include all Zionist parties as well as ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.

Avigdor Liberman, a right-wing critic of Netanyahu and leader of the smallest of the core opposition parties, has made clear he opposes any partnership with Israeli-Arabs, questioning their ideology and warning of the political cost.

Liberman has instead courted the ultra-Orthodox, despite his years of criticism of the community over its key demand that its young people remain exempt from mandatory military service.

Liberman met Monday with Eisenkot in a public show of unity.

“Both expressed full confidence in their ability to form a stable government for a full four-year term,” Liberman’s Yashar party said in a statement.

Eisenkot and Netanyahu have both offered a national-unity government with the rival party — but with each one insisting he would be in charge.

Eisenkot has publicly said that Netanyahu is dangerous and unfit to lead Israel, pointing to his failure to prevent the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack, his deep divisiveness and corruption charges that could land Netanyahu in prison if he were to lose power.

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